Pier 55 Still Afloat?

Plans to revamp a pier on the Hudson River in New York City hit a major roadblock when a judge said in March the proposal didn’t consider the environmental impact of the project. Now the Army Corps of Engineers and the trust responsible for the land are hoping to address the judge’s concerns.

David Shankbone – Barry Diller
in 2009

Pier 55 on the Hudson was lined up for a new park and performing arts center in a more than $200 million project chiefly bankrolled by media mogul and chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp Barry Diller. But hopes for the development were felled when Judge Lorna G. Schofield reportedly objected to the use of concrete to fill in hundreds of pilings and the docking of a barge next to the pier in plans submitted by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Now the Corps and the Hudson River Park Trust are appealing the decision from Schofield with modified plans which address those specific concerns, The New York Times reported.

Diller told the Times he’s ambivalent going forward because he felt the project, despite being of potentially great benefit to the public, was being stalled by a few opponents. He said much of the opposition to the development of Pier 55 was being bankrolled by real estate mogul Douglas Durst, which was at least partially confirmed by Durst earlier in May, the paper reported.

Diller is married to fashion bigwig Diane Von Furstenburg and the two have also been involved in the development of buildings in Manhattan and the city’s Meatpacking District.